Last week we carried out a dormice survey as part of a pilot project (TWECOM) at Elm Farm looking at harvesting wood fuel from hedges. The nearest records held by the Thames Valley Environmental Records Centre listed dormice in Inkpen in 2010/11.
The dormice survey at Elm Farm involved a group of volunteers searching for hazelnuts that have been gnawed by dormice, in the hazel-rich hedges that were identified in our summer hedgerow surveys. The People’s Trust for Endangered Species (PTES) which is organising the national survey – The Great Nut Hunt – helpfully provided us with some sample dormouse gnawed hazelnuts.
The good news is that we found some gnawed nuts that have been confirmed as having been chewed by dormice. We are continuing the survey to try and determine their extent.
